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Dr Pittard told the Independent: “We are used to dealing with emergencies, but we have never been exposed to this sort of demand.”

She added that “there will be some patients and staff who will suffer forms of PTSD,” and that those with milder PTSD symptoms could continue to work and make themselves worse.

The Laura Hyde Foundation – a charity that seeks to ensure medical and emergency services staff have access to mental health support – has called on the government to set up a 24-hour phoneline to provide support for staff.

The mental health of NHS staff is a real issue due to the Covid-19 pandemic and associated stress (Image: Peter Dazeley / GETTY)

The charity’s founder Liam Barnes told the Nursing Times that such a phone line would need people with a clinical background on the other end, and said: “We’re playing with people’s lives quite frankly and it has to be right.”

He added that the charity had seen an 88 percent rise in “acute requests” which usually involves someone in need of counselling.

The Royal College of Nursing says that according to the office for national statistics, the suicide rate among nurses is 23 percent higher than the national average.

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And Jennifer Hawkins, clinical lead at the Laura Hyde Foundation, told RT UK: “I think the physical and mental demands of long shifts and excessive workload and fear of catching the virus is especially difficult for healthcare workers at this time.”

The NHS says that PTSD sufferers often “relive” traumatic events, and that they may experience feelings of isolation and guilt.

It’s estimated to affect around one in every three people who have a traumatic experience.

Meanwhile a leaked document written by Daniel Martin, head of intensive care for serious infection diseases at the Royal Free Hospital, highlighted the weight of demand that frontline NHS staff are under.